Sheepeater Cliff
Encyclopedia
The Sheepeater Cliffs are a series of exposed cliffs made up of columnar basalt
in Yellowstone National Park
in the United States
. The lava was deposited about 500,000 years ago during one of the periodic basaltic floods
in Yellowstone Caldera
, and later exposed by the Gardner River
. The cliffs are noted as a textbook example of a basaltic flow with well defined joints and hexagonal columns. They were named after a sub-band of Western Shoshone
known as Tukuaduka (sheep eaters). Many of the exposed cliffs are located along a steep inaccessible canyon cut by the Gardner near Bunsen Peak
, but some of the cliffs located just off the Grand Loop Road can be reached by car.
ategory:Category:Geology of Wyoming
Category:Volcanology
Category:Columnar basalts
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The lava was deposited about 500,000 years ago during one of the periodic basaltic floods
Flood basalt
A flood basalt or trap basalt is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that coats large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Flood basalts have occurred on continental scales in prehistory, creating great plateaus and mountain ranges...
in Yellowstone Caldera
Yellowstone Caldera
The Yellowstone Caldera is the volcanic caldera located in Yellowstone National Park in the United States, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano. The caldera is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, in which the vast majority of the park is contained. The major features of...
, and later exposed by the Gardner River
Gardner River
The Gardner River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long, in northwestern Wyoming and south central Montana in the United States. The entire river is located within Yellowstone National Park...
. The cliffs are noted as a textbook example of a basaltic flow with well defined joints and hexagonal columns. They were named after a sub-band of Western Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
known as Tukuaduka (sheep eaters). Many of the exposed cliffs are located along a steep inaccessible canyon cut by the Gardner near Bunsen Peak
Bunsen Peak
Bunsen Peak el. is a prominent peak due south of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The peak lies on the east flank of Kingman Pass on the Mammoth to Norris section of the Grand Loop Road. The peak was first ascended by Ferdinand V. Hayden and Captain John W. Barlow in...
, but some of the cliffs located just off the Grand Loop Road can be reached by car.
External links
ategory:Category:Geology of Wyoming
Category:Volcanology
Category:Columnar basalts